


Good things come in good time

by hopelessly_me



Category: Marvel
Genre: Avengers take a vacation, Birthday Party, Bucky Is a Good Bro, Bucky is being sneaky, Clint discovers Tumblr, Clint loves fanart, Clint loves surprises, Clint needs Coffee, Clint shares a secret, Confused Bucky, Embarrassed Clint, I apologize for none of the puns used, Internet Searches, M/M, Moving In Together, New Relationship, Patient Bucky, Sad Clint, Talking About The Future, Tony gets to deal with Clint, Tony secretly loves fanart too, Upset Bucky, blindfolded Clint, blowing up balloons, cheerful Natasha, disaster Baker! Clint, disaster Clint, excited Clint, first big argument, flour and cake batter everywhere, gaudy decorations, gift exchange on non-birthdays, happy boys, impulsive clint, mentions of tub sharing, proposal over a mess, sunburnt Clint, suspicious Clint, their love language is incredibly dorky, unimpressed Bucky, worried Bucky
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-07-01
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:34:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 13,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25014802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hopelessly_me/pseuds/hopelessly_me
Summary: Clint never expected all the things that could happen after he turned 29- but he certainly isn't complaining.A series of events spanning the course of a year in the life of Clint and Bucky.
Relationships: Clint Barton & Natasha Romanov, Clint Barton & Tony Stark, James "Bucky" Barnes/Clint Barton
Comments: 70
Kudos: 76





	1. Shores nice to be here with you

**Author's Note:**

> All of these chapters link up to my Clint Barton Birthday Bingo fills. In order: vacation, coffee, Aww, ____, no..., sunburn, surprise, gift/present, balloons, cake, and birthday). I hope you enjoy. <3

“I’ve got a question,” Bucky stated from behind Clint, the hot air tickling Clint’s neck. 

While Clint had no issues with Bucky, or anyone on the team, he didn’t particularly care to have any of them standing that close behind him, or that close to his ears for that matter. He never liked anyone touching his ears- they could dislodge a hearing aid, and it would suddenly turn into an embarrassing search and rescue mission, green BTEs blending into the grass style. Or worse- the time it was his skin tone mission comms in sand. Never mind the fact that Clint had been stabbed too many times from someone at his back.

“What’s that?” Clint asked, pushing down his own feelings. Bucky didn’t know any of that yet, and Clint was fine keeping it that way.

“Are… all vacations going to be like this?”

Clint looked at Bucky and he couldn’t help to smile. He wore swimming trunks and a long sleeved rashguard top. One look told Clint that Bucky was highly uncomfortable, even though he didn’t know what from. The team, when not on duty, could be a loud bunch, and most of them were competitive to boot. Currently Steve, Tony, Sam, and Natasha were playing a round of chicken in the pool, slamming each other with taunts and burns like their lives depended on it. It was a roast fest, just like training sessions tended to be.

“Like… what?” Clint asked. “Loud? Because I am sure you are used to that already,” Clint jested. “You’ve heard them in training. None of them behave. Savages, I tell you. All of them.”

“Expensive.” Clint blinked a few times before he cocked his head. “Are all the vacations somewhere that costs more than my arm?”

Clint snorted before he bursted out laughing. “Well, I mean, your arm  _ is _ expensive, but I don’t know  _ how _ expensive. Don’t tell me either. I’ll have a heart attack. But uh- kinda? I mean, if it’s a family vacation, yes. Tony likes to plan them, Steve likes to oblige Tony, and the rest of us shuffle along and deal with it really.”

Bucky grunted and looked at the people around the pool. Thor and Bruce seemed to be in a conversation about- well, Clint wasn’t really sure what. Kate was hanging out with America, Wanda, and Pietro, and Clint tried not to think of the amount of trash talking that was happening there. They were, afterall, all close in age and from the same generation- it was terrifying to think about. Rhodney and Pepper were watching from the sidelines, mostly soaking in the sun.

It was a standard vacation, as far as Clint could tell. All the people he loved all housed in a beach house for a week. It was a time to hopefully destress from their chaotic lives, and if luck were on their side, they wouldn’t need to leave. Sure, it was more expensive than what Clint would have taken on his own, but he was used to this kinda thing now. Tony loved to shower his friends and family in love, and Clint loved that obnoxious smirk on his face because he knew that that smirk would turn into a fond smile when he thought no one was looking.

Bucky was new to it all, which Clint had to remind himself of. Bucky had only been with the team, full time, for about four months now. He wasn’t used to everyone destressing on vacations like this, and he wasn’t used to Tony’s version of vacations. Maybe it was something Steve should have warned him about, or even Clint. 

It wasn’t that Clint and Bucky were particularly close, even though they did talk. Clint remembered sitting outside of Bucky’s cell a few times, just to talk to him about whatever came to mind. He was familiar with what it was like to be made into someone you weren’t, he knew too well what it was like to be used. Clint figured that maybe talking to Bucky could be good for the both of them. While Bucky never actually admitted to it, the few times he would give Clint more than just a small smile had made the whole task worth it.

So when Bucky did eventually move into the Tower with everyone, he had someone other than Steve and Sam to talk to; Clint really didn’t mind being that person most of the time. The wake up calls at odd hours were startling at first- Clint wasn’t used to people actually needing him when he slept, unless it was for a mission. Nonetheless, Clint would roll out of bed and sit with Bucky, whether it was to talk or just have someone in his company.

“What?” Clint jumped and looked at Bucky. He had been so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he hadn’t heard most of what Bucky had said to him. “I’m sorry.”

Bucky looked amused for a moment before he looked back. “I asked what you are going to be doing on vacation?”

“Honestly?” Clint asked. “You are probably going to laugh.” Clint stretched. “I am going to wake up early, every day, and start the day out on the beach. Yoga and running. And then I’m sunbathing. Gotta keep the tan going, afterall. Between eating and game night every night- I’ll probably be in the ocean a lot. Paddleboarding, surfing. Hey- there is a place nearby that does this kayaking thing. No one usually wants to go. You want to try it with me?”

Bucky looked confused. “You want me to go kayaking with you?” he asked.

“Ouch, Barnes, you act like I don’t like you,” Clint replied with a grin.

“That’s not what I-” Bucky began to say.

“Bucky! Man! Come beat the hell outta Natasha for me,” Sam called over. “She’s cheating somehow. Figure out her Russian cheating scandal for us all.”

Clint started to grin. “Looks like you have formally been summoned.”

Bucky nodded and held a finger up before he looked at Clint and nodded. “You set it up- I’ll go kayaking with you,” he said before he took off towards the group.

Clint stared after him before he caught Natasha’s knowing eye. He flashed her a smile, flipped her off, earning himself a laugh, before he grabbed a surfboard and headed out to the ocean. He paddled out as far as he could go, safely, and let the waves carry him back every time.

Maybe this vacation wasn’t going to be a bust after all.

It was their next to last day before Clint was able to secure a kayaking tour for himself and Bucky. He had asked everyone else if they wanted to go, but was shot down again. Clint didn’t mind it so much. He had spent the entire week with them so it wasn’t like he felt neglected or anything.

It helped that he could spend alone time with Bucky. It wasn’t like Clint had a crush on the guy- Clint was pretty sure crushes were for people in high school or younger. But there was something about Bucky that always seemed to draw Clint in a little closer. He was quiet most of the time, but the moment he did decide to open his mouth he had a quick wit to him that made Clint’s soul soar just a little more every time. And those times Clint could pull a big, genuine smile or laugh from Bucky could keep Clint going for days.

So when they were finally out in the open intercoastal water, kayaking idly by themselves, Clint was pretty sure that he was in heaven. They didn’t talk about much after they settled into their trip. Bucky pulled his shirt off and relaxed back, looking around them with the most serene energy Clint had ever felt pouring off the guy.

“So… how does it feel being twenty-nine?” Bucky asked, lolling his head to the side to look at Clint. 

“Same as twenty-eight but closer to death,” Clint answered with a grin.

Bucky rolled his eyes. “Closer to death,” he muttered. “You seemed like you had a good time,” he added.

“Can I tell you a secret?” Clint asked. Bucky nodded and shrugged. “I actually hate the big parties Tony likes to throw,” he admitted. “Just not my style. I’m used to birthdays being just another day. Maybe eat a cupcake with a candle on top or something. But all the drinking, the music, all the food, and presents? Not my thing.”

“And you haven’t told them?” Bucky asked, surprised.

“Nah. Why ruin their fun?” Clint asked, reaching in front of him and grabbing his bottle of water. “Everyone gets into it. I can deal for a day. Now if they make it a whole freaking week or something, then it may come up.” Clint took a drink and caught Bucky watching him. “What?”

“Just weird,” Bucky answered. “Figured you’d be the type to call it how it is. Pull a Natasha. I heard her murder glare silenced the room and they haven’t thrown a party since.”

Clint grinned and set his bottle down. “Yeah, well- the story isn’t wrong. Natasha doesn’t enjoy being the center of attention. Another secret? I usually slip her presents from the others. Just throughout the year. Takes it down a notch for her, makes it comfortable.”

“Your lives are sad,” Bucky drawled, smirking.

Clint laughed. “Yeah, well, we all got our things, am I right?” Clint leaned forward and stretched. “Ideally? I’d have a small thing with the team and maybe close out the night at the bar down the street from my apartment then sleep off the drunkenness in that shithole.”

Bucky nodded and looked out before he nearly jumped out of his kayak. “Look!” he shouted.

Clint jumped and looked around before a dolphin in the distance could be seen, followed by three more. “Oh hey! That’s kinda cool.”

“Wanna paddle out to them?”

“Sure, why not? Death by dolphin would look great on a headstone,” Clint said, grabbing his paddle.

Bucky gave Clint one of those genuine smiles that made Clint’s stomach swoop, and he started to paddle. “You could have more embarrassing things listed on your headstone. Death by caffeine overload-”

“Don’t you start, Barnes,” Clint warned. “I’m never giving up coffee.”

“Death by being crushed by a dog pile.”

“Like… big dogs?” Clint asked. “Because I would totally love to die being smothered by a group of big dogs. Can one be an overly excited Great Dane?”

Bucky laughed, straight from his belly, and okay- maybe Clint did have a crush on Bucky. Clint knew he had a dopey grin on his face as they paddled out towards the dolphin. Bucky pulled his phone out and leaned forward, the skin at the small of his back exposed. Clint tried not to stare before he looked up and smiled, watching Bucky take a few pictures of the dolphins as they swam by only a few dozen yards away.

“Hey.” Clint blinked and looked at Bucky’s face. “Smile,” Bucky said, well, demanded. Clint lined his kayak up better and smiled as Bucky snapped a photo. “Thank you for inviting me to this. It’s been relaxing, quiet for the most part.”

“And we aren’t even done yet,” Clint said.

“Still- we should do something like this more often,” Bucky commented. “No fancy vacations, no obnoxiously big beach house.”

Clint felt like he could melt. Bucky wanted to take a vacation with him, something low key, laid back. It was like Clint was being handed the biggest award of his life, and it was something so simple. He was thankful for the sun, because he could blame whatever stupid look that was on his face from it.

“Yeah- we’ll have to give it a go sometime,” Clint agreed.


	2. Brew can do it!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the Clint Barton Birthday bingo fill "coffee". Get it? You can brew it? I'll see myself out....

It was early in the morning that Clint dragged himself from his floor and down to the communal space, fully intending to steal coffee. He had been sick for two days straight, and now that he finally felt better, he intended to grace everyone with his presence long enough to drink a pot of coffee and slip back into oblivion. Maybe, if he were lucky, he could get a solid seven hours of sleep in him. Now  _ that _ would be a miracle.

The floor was mostly quiet at this time and Clint could smell the divine scent of coffee the moment he stepped off the elevator. Almost on autopilot, Clint made a beeline for the kitchen and stared at the empty pot. He grumbled about it before he started going through the cabinet. Empty. Clint stared at the dedicated coffee shelf, bare of the sweet beans that made that sweet elixir of life, and he was pretty sure he was two seconds away from having a meltdown.

He looked up at the next three shelves, greeted only with food items. He opened every drawer, every cabinet, even the fridge, and there wasn’t a bag of coffee to be seen. Clint stared at the coffee pot in full disbelief- this was the greatest offense anyone could have left him, and he was cursing the person who took the last mug.

Letting out the most pitiful whine Clint collapsed on the ground next to the coffeemaker, sprawling out. This was his worst nightmare, his own personal hell. Clint was contemplating how he was supposed to make it to the coffeeshop in his pitiful state. This was, by far, one of the cruelest moments of his life- what monster would ever do this to him?

“Clint?” Bucky asked and Clint tilted his head back to look at his concerned face. “You okay there buddy?”

“Coffee,” he whined and moaned, turning his gaze to the coffeemaker, feeling more forlorn by the moment.

“Yeah, we ran out this morning,” Bucky said. “There is supposed to be a delivery in five hours.”

Clint looked at Bucky before he turned his head. “Just stomp… stomp really hard. End my misery,” he begged. “I won’t survive the five hours.”

“You are… so weird,” Bucky commented. “Come on, Hawkguy. I’ll take you out and buy you breakfast and coffee. My treat.”

Clint sat up and turned to look up at Bucky. “Really? You’d do that for me?” he asked.

Bucky shrugged and smiled, settling his hands on his hips. “Natasha isn’t here. Someone has to make sure you are doing human things, like eating and not asking people to stomp on your head because you don’t have coffee at your fingertips.”

“Laugh all you want, but I don’t feel human without my coffee,” Clint said as he stood up. “And I haven’t had it in two days. You’re lucky I’m not a zombie right now.”

“Considered me blessed,” Bucky teased. “Come on, I know a place that usually isn’t terrible at this hour.”

The walk there wasn’t terrible, even though playing dodge’em in the streets full of busy New Yorkers without any caffeine was not Clint’s strong suit. However, it made Bucky laugh several times so Clint was counting it as a win in his book. When they finally got to the coffee shop and the aroma hit him, Clint was pretty sure he had yet again found heaven. It wasn’t too crowded and Bucky told Clint to go sit as he ordered for them. Clint found a table tucked away towards the back and laid his head down and just breathed. 

“Here you go, I even bought you a muffin,” Bucky announced, sitting down. “And two coffees.”

“You’re my hero,” Clint breathed, stealing one of the cups and nearly downing it. He was long past caring if it was scalding hot as long as it provided him with some energy. “Thank you.”

“Any time,” Bucky answered, taking his time with his fancy coffee that Clint briefly thought about teasing him for. Bucky picked at his own muffin, his eyes focused on the streets as he watched the people go by. There was a time when Clint thought Bucky was doing it because he didn’t know how to shut his brain off from scanning for threats. Clint quickly figured out that Bucky was, in fact, a people watcher.

It was one month since their vacation and Clint and Bucky spent a hell of a lot of time together now. Clint was pretty sure Steve was becoming suspicious of something that wasn’t even happening, and Natasha gave Clint that fond look like she knew there was more going on. But nothing had happened- they were just friends despite what others might have thought. They both loved trying new food, and watching the worst movies they could possibly find. They were both trained snipers, enjoyed animals, and sharing the weirdest memes they could. They just worked, despite everything Clint thought wouldn’t work between them.

Clint wasn’t sure what made him say it just then, in that small coffee shop. Maybe it was from his lack of coffee over the course of three days, or maybe he was still slightly sick and his mind wasn’t fully up to speed yet. But there was something about the way Bucky was sitting there with him, had offered to take him out for coffee and a light breakfast, that made Clint braver than he had ever felt.

“Will you go out with me?” Clint asked quickly. Bucky turned his head that was resting on his hand and looked at Clint, confused for a moment before he looked suspicious. “Like- on a date. Out. Maybe to dinner? I know we already go out to dinner. Uh- maybe then a-”

“You are asking me out on a date?” Bucky asked calmly, his lips twitching up to that barely there smile, and Clint could have sworn his eyes had lit up.

“Uh-yeah? Yes. Yes I am. A date, definitely a date,” Clint rambled before he picked up and started chugging the rest of his coffee from cup number two. Apparently it had some sort of mix between “hey idiot, ask him out” and “let’s ramble and sound like an idiot” potions in there.

“Alright.”

“It’s fine, I’m- wait, what?” Clint asked.

“You thought I was going to say no?” Bucky asked, and Clint nodded. Bucky rolled his eyes and looked outside, that smile only growing. “It was never going to be a no, Clint.”

Clint stared at Bucky then tilted his head. “Okay, so I am awake right?” he asked. “This isn’t some dream or something?”

“Want me to punch you so you know for sure?” Bucky asked with a chuckle before he sat straight up and looked back at Clint. “I was trying to figure out a way to bring it up. Apparently you decided to just blurt it out.”

“Yeah, I’m charming,” Clint grumbled.

“You’re fine just the way you are, rambling and all,” Bucky said. “So… is this just because I bought you a coffee?”

“You bought me two coffees, that definitely earns you brownie points,” Clint pointed out and Bucky barely contained a smile and a laugh. Clint could see it trying to push it’s way out. “You went kayaking with me when the others wouldn’t. They never do. You take me to the animal rescue and wait for  _ hours _ as I pet every single animal in the place.”

“In all fairness, doll, I get to pet them too, at least the ones that weren’t afraid of the arm,” Bucky said, which was fair. “So that’s all I have to do, huh? Take interest in your interests and buy you some coffee? Easiest date ever.”

“What can I say, Barnes?” Clint asked, finishing the last of his coffee. “I am an extremely easy and predictable man.”

“I don’t know about all that,” Bucky drawled. “But I guess I get to find out.”


	3. Aww, internet searches, no....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the Clint Barton Birthday Bingo fill "Aww, ____, no..."

_ What do you buy your boyfriend for christmas? What do you buy a supersoldier for christmas? Ten best knives to stab someone with. Can guns come with magnetic clips for arms? Can knives come with magnets? Why do I look up stupid shit? How to tell if you are on an FBI watch list. Can you give someone a cat for Christmas? Should you give someone a cat for Christmas? Boys in cat headbands. What in Hanaka? Hanuka. What is Hunakkah? Do you give gifts during Hanukkah? Why can’t I spell Hanukkah right ever? Ten best cat breeds to get your boyfriend. Ten best dog breeds. Dogs. Cute dogs. Puppies!!!! Gifts for boyfriend. How to keep a boyfriend. How to make a homemade badass knife- easy version. How to make a taser. Pop + mentos = rocket? _

Clint was pretty sure he was definitely on a government watchlist, which was a hilarious thought. He was pretty sure his assigned FBI agent probably checked his internet searches and rolled his or her eyes. It wasn’t Clint’s fault he googled weird shit- he was pretty sure living a weird life meant you _ had _ to look up weird shit. And the internet was full of things Clint had never known.

Clint and Bucky had been dating for just under five months now and the holiday season was approaching. Clint felt woefully unprepared. He had just found out Bucky was Jewish during Thanksgiving when Steve and Bucky were talking about their childhoods. Clint had a very basic knowledge of what that meant and was on the hunt for any and all information he could find in order to prepare him, but he only ended up feeling more lost. 

He just wanted to get this right for Bucky because Bucky deserved a nice holiday season. It wasn’t that Clint was notoriously bad at gift giving, he was actually quite good at it. But Hanukkah was right around the corner and he wasn’t sure what gifts he was supposed to get for that, which turned into another google search, hoping he could soak in the ideas of others.

It wasn’t until later that night that Clint froze, staring at the computer screen. He wasn’t sure what had led him to this point, but somehow he did. In his tired, frantic search he had typed in  _ Bucky Barnes thigh holsters _ and was greeted with not only photographs, but sketches. Clint hovered over a link, clicked it, and he was pretty sure he had made a classic mistake. Hundreds of photos of Bucky, drawings of him too, were there to be scanned through. Clint was pretty sure his face had gone completely red when he came across two sketches, Bucky and Steve both as pinup models.

Clint slammed the screen down on his laptop and stared off at a wall, unable to get the image out of his mind. And that wasn’t all the fanart he saw. Clint picked up his laptop and headed straight down to a lab where he knew Tony would be working late. He didn’t bother to knock, or even give Tony a warning.

“Do you know what Tumblr is?” Clint asked.

“Yes and don’t do it,” Tony answered without looking back.

“Yeah, too late for that,” Clint mumbled. “I saw  _ things _ . I can’t unsee the things.”

Tony snorted, still working away. “What the hell did you google to make you see things?” he asked. “And what kind of things are we talking about?”

“Like… like drawing of Bucky… and Steve… without clothes,” Clint said slowly, feeling his face heating up all over again.  _ Because that’s what I need. This is a disaster. _

“What?” Tony asked, turning around. “Clint, don’t you dare open that-” Tony began to say but it was too late, Clint had it opened and aimed right at Tony. “Ah! Turn it off! Why would you do this to me?”

“Okay but, I mean- they are good drawings,” Clint said, walking forward. “I was trying to figure out Bucky and the holidays and I just… stumbled on this. Oh look!” Clint gazed down at a piece of art that blew him away- it was almost like looking at a photograph of Bucky, but it wasn’t. “Okay but people are good, Tony. Like really good.”

“You are jumping down a rabbit- is that  _ me _ ?” Tony asked, leaning in.

“Awww man! They are showing Bucky kissing everyone but me!” Clint whined. “Okay, this is somehow worse than the Steve one.”

“Excuse you!” Tony gaped at Clint. “Worse as in…”

“Oh hey! There I am!” Clint cheered. “Okay, this is weird and cool and I kinda love it. What the hell kinda site is this?”

That was only the beginning of all the crazy searches Clint did, along with Tony. Between the two of them, they found out a lot of theories about the team- who was sleeping with who, who likes what movies. Basically anything that could make a good story was talked about. And then some.

“I am telling you! We are not going down the fanfiction section of anything,” Tony declared. “I can’t- I just can’t.”

“Wimp,” Clint taunted. “Oh come on- they have things marked explicit. How great could that be?”

“You click it and our friendship is over,” Tony threatened, even though Clint knew he was bluffing. “And after I saw that picture of-”

“What are you two up to?”

Clint slammed the screen of his laptop down, his face turning bright red as Bucky and Steve walked into the room. Bucky was the one who talked, and now he was the one who looked the most suspicious. “What are you both looking at?”

“Nothing,” Tiny answered quickly.

“Porn,” Clint answered and then he snapped his head over to look at Tony, who did the same.

“We are  _ not _ looking at porn! No. Not together,” Tony said very sternly.

Steve moved forward. “Give me the laptop.”

Clint pulled it up and held it close to his chest as he moved swiftly off his chair and away. “Over my dead or unconscious body.”

“You both are acting oddly suspicious,” Steve said, and it wasn’t in his friendly tone either. Clint hated when Steve started with his business voice, especially when it was directed to him. “You both have been spending a lot of time together. What is going on?”

“Clint?” Clint looked over at Bucky, observed his worried expression before he nodded.

“It’s uh- Tumblr. And what people have posted about us all,” Clint admitted. “There’s, like, fanart and stuff. Like- amazing artists. I think you’d like ‘em, Cap. But uh- we kinda fell down the rabbit hole.”

“Tony?” Steve asked.

“I blame Barton for everything,” Tony answered. “He’s the one who started it.”

“And why did you start it?” Bucky asked Clint.

Clint felt his face flare up and his shoulders pull up as he hugged his laptop. “Can I maybe tell you this one in private?” he requested.

Bucky nodded, although he didn’t look any more comforted by the request. He turned and headed back to the elevator, Clint shuffling along behind him. Clint was positive that if he was a dog his tail would be tucked between his legs by now. The ride to Bucky’s floor was painfully quiet and Clint felt something buzzing under his skin.

“Look, if something happened between you and Tony-” Bucky began to say.

“No. Hell no,” Clint said quickly, cutting Bucky off. “It’s not that, I swear.” Clint nearly stumbled out of the elevator when it opened, turning to walk backwards, watching Bucky. “Okay so… you’re Jewish?”

Bucky frowned a little more at that. “Is that a problem?”

“What? No! No, why would it be?” Clint asked. “No, I just- I guess I didn’t know that. Wait, is it going to be a problem? Are you allowed to date non-Jewish people? Wait, do I have to convert or something?” Clint asked and Bucky all at once snapped out of his concerned expressions and bursted out laughing. “This isn’t funny! I didn’t get that far into researching Judaism and this is a serious question!”

“Calm down, doll,” Bucky said, taking the laptop carefully from Clint and setting it down. “No harm, no foul. We just won’t tell grandma that you aren’t a Jew.”

“Tell grand-” Clint began to repeat. “That’s not funny!”

Bucky was laughing once again and hooked his fingers into Clint’s belt loops and pulled him closer, Clint shuffling his feet to comply. “Clint, honey. What’s going on?” he asked.

Clint sighed before he groaned. “So the holidays are coming up, and I get Christmas. I mean, I know the gift giving and everything. And then you and Steve were talking about Hanukkah and I just- I don’t know a damn thing about it. I know bare minimum here. So I was trying to figure out what to get you for Christmas, and then I had to remind myself that you are Jewish so that  _ has _ to work differently, right? So then my internet searches kinda got crazy and I typed something in and it- it took to me this site, which is both terrifying and amazing,” Clint explained. “And I asked Tony about it, because the internet is his thing and I don’t want Kate to laugh at me. And we kinda just… bonded over the whole thing.”

Bucky nodded as if he understood, even though he looked like he understood about half of what Clint said. His fingers were playing with the top of Clint’s jeans. Clint nodded back. “You can check the laptop. It’s all right there. No porn. Well- side note. Some people? Really good at drawing penises.”

“I don’t think I want to know to be honest,” Bucky said with a smile. “So nothing is going on between you and Tony?”

“Yeah, definitely not,” Clint answered. “Tony doesn’t have long, luscious hair that I can braid. And he’s kinda missing a sexy metal murder arm.” Bucky’s nose wrinkled at the term and Clint leaned forward to kiss the tip of his nose. “And he’s not nearly as cute as you are. Or as patient half the time.” Clint grabbed at Bucky’s hands and shrugged. “I just wanted to figure out what to get you for Christmas and I guess my internet searches got the best of me.” Clint felt himself begin to grin. “Admittedly, one of those searches was about if gifting someone a cat was cool.”

“The answer is a no,” Bucky answered.

“The answer was actually-” Clint began.

“It’s a no,” Bucky said with a chuckle. “Animals are not good gifts.”

“I highly disagree. Buy me a dog as a gift and see how excited I get,” Clint challenged.

Bucky smiled and kissed Clint’s forehead. “Thank you,” he said. Clint frowned and tilted his head. “What you were trying to do was sweet, and I appreciate the hell outta it, doll. But for now- one easy holiday gift. Nothing big and extravagant. Hell, you could get me socks and they would probably be the best things anyone has ever given me. You know why?”

“If you say something corny like it’s because I gave them to you, I might die,” Clint warned.

Bucky grinned. “Because I know you. Because I know you freak out over making sure everyone has the perfect gift. And that thought alone makes whatever gift you get me the best gift anyone ever could.”

Clint flushed and he looked down. “Getting romantic on me- that’s cheating somehow,” he muttered before he looked back up with an awkward smile. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Bucky said, wrapping his arms around Clint. “Next time? No google searching and getting distracted. And definitely, under no circumstances, show me what this… Tumblr thing is.”


	4. I'd (sun)burn for you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the Clint Barton Birthday bingo fill "sunburn"

Clint could still hear Bucky’s voice ringing in his ears.  _ Don’t forget to pack extra sunscreen. _ Clint laughed it off because really- how long was this mission going to take? It seemed so easy peasey when explained to them Clint was figuring they would be in and out in no time flat. So he made a show of putting the sunscreen on in front of Bucky, which earned him a slap to the back of the head from Natasha who told him to knock it off, and Bucky laughed so hard Clint thought he was going to ruin his suit. Clint had enjoyed the moment so much that he didn’t remember to tuck the sunscreen into his bag.

It was five hours in and Clint was roasting on a rooftop. He had no idea New Zealand in February was so hot, and apparently this sunny. He had made it through three of his water bottles, dumping the last bit over his head or on his shoulders in an attempt to cool off. He was given sniper duty, which was what he preferred to do, and he was almost regretting it. However, the thought of having to be dressed up like Bucky and Natasha was somehow worse.

“ _ We are good to go- time to pack up _ ,” Natasha said over the comm. “ _ Clint, take the southwest side and meet us in two hours. Double check your back. We aren’t sure if they caught on or not _ .”

“Copy. See you in two.” Clint slid back from the edge and collected his belongings before he left that rooftop. As soon as he hit the cool air of the building, Clint instantly felt better. It wasn’t until he tossed his bag over his shoulder, eliciting a wince, that Clint pulled his glasses off and looked at his shoulder and groaned.

Clint was a grown man. He had lived through everything it seemed and he was doing just fine if you asked him. He was a sniper, an assassin, a world class agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., and Hawkeye, the sixth favorite of the original Avengers. Despite all of these things, there was one thing that terrified him and that thing was his boyfriend. And based off the sunburn Clint was sporting, he was pretty sure that Bucky was going to be a bear to deal with.

It took two hours before Clint met up with the team. He walked into the safehouse, tossed his bag down at the front door and walked into the living room. Natasha and Bucky were talking casually and looked up just in time to watch Clint flop down and sprawl face up on the ground.

“Mistakes were made,” Clint muttered. “What’s the damage?”

“You look like a tomato,” Natasha mused.

Bucky, however, looked somewhere between amused and annoyed, Clint couldn’t quite tell which side was winning out. “Damage is called skin cancer,” Bucky answered dryly, and Clint figured out quickly which side had won out. “I told you that you needed to pack more sunscreen.”

“I know,” Clint whined, drawing it out. “But then I got flirty before the mission, and Natasha hit me, and we were all laughing, and I left it behind. And I didn’t think it would take five hours. You both are slow.”

“We are thorough,” Bucky shot back.

“Boys,” Natasha warned. “Clint, maybe you should put some aloe on. I am sure there’s some in the house somewhere. After that, want to spend some time in the hot tub with us?”

Clint looked between Natasha and Bucky, watching them both exchange a devious look. “You both are assholes, why do I bother spending time with either of you?” Clint sat up with a groan. “My skin is going to peel off.”

“Disgusting,” Natasha said with a wrinkled nose.

“I am  _ not _ helping with that,” Bucky said. “We love you.”

“Uh huh,” Clint responded as he pulled himself off the ground and shuffled to the bathroom. “Just remember that you said you loved me in a few days.”

“You said you loved me!” Clint whined pitifully.

“And I do, doll, I really do,” Bucky said sympathetically, leaning closer to Clint on the couch. “But I am not peeling your back. That’s disgusting.”

“It’s literally dead skin and you have touched way worse,” Clint argued. It was a fair argument- if Clint had touched worse than flaking skin, he knew Bucky had to have too. “Babe, it itches. Help me,” he whined. “Look, you don’t even have to really touch it. Just grab something to help flake off the skin.”

“This is a level of intimacy I am not willing to participate in.”

“Really? You want to go the intimacy route?” Clint asked in a bored tone. “Alright, fine. Don’t help me.” Clint unfolded his legs and got up. He took two steps before Bucky grabbed his wrist. Clint looked down at his boyfriend, could see the internal struggle before he sighed heavily.

“We are taking a cool bath,” Bucky explained. “I will… help you with a washcloth and copious amounts of soap. You will not crack any jokes during this time, and you will not try to flirt with me.”

“You drive a really hard bargain, sunshine,” Clint said. He turned his wrist over and brushed his fingers against Bucky’s wrist. “You really don’t have to. I am just being dramatic. I can probably attach a loofah or something to the end of one of my arrows and get all the spots.”

Bucky almost looked horrified as he stood up. “Yeah because that sounds like an excellent idea.”

“What could possibly go wrong?”

“You’re a Hawkeye. What wouldn’t go wrong?” Bucky asked with a hint of a smirk. “Come on. Let’s go take a bath and see if we can make you feel better.”

“Happy early Valentine’s Day to me,” Clint said, waggling his eyebrows. Bucky shot him exactly one look and Clint made himself smaller. “I mean, I love you. A lot. And I owe you one.”

“You owe me fifty,” Bucky countered. “Starting with Valentine’s Day. I want something big, Clint. Really big. Like you bringing your A game.” Clint groaned about it on the way to the bath. “And there is one other thing.”

“What’s that?” Clint asked, turning around and walking backwards so he could watch Bucky.

“You ever get a sunburn again, I am going to drown you.”

Clint saw the smile forming on Bucky’s face before he felt his own face lighting up. “I think that is the best way you have ever told me you loved me, and I am forever going to cherish it.” Clint leaned forward and kissed Bucky, maybe too rushed but he was  _ not _ going to break the no flirting promise- he was really looking forward to their bath. “I’ll drown you too.”


	5. I'm here to gift your spirits

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the Clint Barton Birthday Bingo fill "surprise". I'm here to gift your spirits. I'm here to lift your spirits. (I have no shame, people. =P )

Clint held his hands out in front of him, swallowing back all the fear he had from either tripping down a set of stairs or running into something. Despite all the whining and crying he did, there was no way Bucky was going to let him get out of wearing the stupid blindfold.

“I am not going to let you run into anything,” Bucky said reassuringly, his hand on Clint’s shoulder, a firm and constant reminder that at least he wasn’t alone.

“Funny, because about ten minutes ago I remember stubbing my toe,” Clint pointed out.

“Okay, I’m not going to let it happen again,” Bucky said and Clint could hear the laughter he was likely trying to conceal. “Come on, have a little faith in me. We have been dating ten months. If the worst thing I have done is blindfold you and let you stub your toe exactly one time, I think I am winning at this whole being your boyfriend thing.”

“You're winning at something, alright.” Clint paused and took a short breath. He had been blindfolded more times than he could think of, and yet every time it happened it instilled the same fear; it didn’t seem to matter that he was with Bucky, who he trusted with pretty much everything in him. “Okay, so I am just going to come out and say it. I already lost one sense- losing two is kind of a drag.”

“You have your hearing aids in, you’re fine,” Bucky answered. “You are purposely being dramatic. Which is cute- but I’m still not taking the blindfold off.”

“Okay but I hate surprises.”

“You love surprises you filthy liar.”

Clint pouted. “Okay yeah- I love surprises. But I am not a fan of walking and being blindfolded. Brings back very,  _ very _ fun memories that usually ended up with me being punched in the face.”

“I can totally make that happen,” Bucky offered. “Okay, stop a moment.” Clint froze in his spot then felt Bucky’s hand leave him, which was  _ not _ something he was prepared for. It returned a moment later, with his other hand on Clint’s other shoulder. “You have three steps down.”

“We’re in the garage. We’re going somewhere?”

“You promised,” Bucky reminded Clint. “It’s a surprise. If you can look around, you’ll figure out my game here. Just… go with it.”

“I really don’t see how guessing we are leaving the Tower is ruining anything but fine. Oh my God! Babe! Are we in the garage? Are we going to play soccer next?” Clint asked too cheerfully.

“Punching you is sounding better by the minute,” Bucky laughed.

It was three easy steps that Clint likely could have done in his sleep. Thinking about it, Clint probably has done it in his sleep. Clint had gone down these three stairs so often he was surprised there wasn’t wear on the steps. He'd gone down when he was flustered, sleepy, anxious, ready for a fight- these stairs were the best way to ground level to fight whatever evil nemesis attacked the city that day.

“If I take this blindfold off you have to promise me something, because we are leaving,” Bucky said.

“Alright.”

“You keep your eyes closed and your head against my back.”

Clint was silent for a moment before he perked up. “Motorcycle ride?” he asked happily. “Babe, take the stupid thing off my face.” His hands flew up and he batted away the fabric with a great amount of pleasure. He stopped and stared at Bucky. “... wait, am I missing something? What is today’s date?”

Bucky was holding out a new helmet, shiny white with purple and pink targets on it. It was almost too nice to take and put on. “It’s not my birthday, it’s not  _ your _ birthday. Not our anniversary. I just wanted to do something nice. And I think you’ll love it.” Bucky tossed Clint the helmet. “Anyway, your last helmet got a little… toasty.”

“Okay but that was a dragon and I cannot be at fault for it,” Clint said.

“You wanted to pet it. How is that not your fault?” Bucky challenged.

“Uh- dragon? Hello?” Clint waved his hands in the air. “It’s like you don’t even know me!”

Bucky tilted his head back and barked out a laugh before he grabbed his own helmet. “Shut up and get on the bike, doll.”

“Yes dear.” Clint removed his hearing aids and tucked them into Bucky’s front pocket before putting his helmet on. Bucky nodded approvingly as Clint got on the bike.

Clint closed his eyes and pressed his helmet into Bucky’s shoulder as lightly as he could, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend’s middle. Riding the motorcycle was one of their favorite past times when it was warm enough. Clint almost wished Bucky had warned him there was a ride involved- he was pretty sure he was freezing his fingers off. Instead of complaining, Clint tried to bury them into Bucky’s jacket where he could almost feel the extra heat radiating off of him.

Judging by the length of time, Clint drew three conclusions. They were either heading to the complete opposite side of town, which Clint wasn’t familiar with. They were heading out of town, and he cursed himself for not taking a peek to see if bags were filled or attached to the bike. Or- Bucky was driving them in circles just to confuse Clint. All three were solid possibilities.

When the bike finally stopped Clint did his best to balance back on it while keeping his eyes closed. Bucky tapped him on the shoulder and Clint opened his eyes, blinking a few times before he looked around. They were still in New York, that much Clint knew. He had never really played around in this district before, which put him on edge. Especially with the building looming ahead.

_ You trust me _ Bucky signed after he caught Clint’s attention, his eyebrows pulled down. Clint gave a small little nod and Bucky beamed. He took one of Clint’s hands and tugged, forcing Clint to move forward with him. Of course Clint trusted Bucky- they had been through a lot together, after all. However, that didn’t mean he trusted a situation, or what looked to be an abandoned building. Clint should have asked for his hearing aids back the moment he got off the bike, but he had been stunned and confused by the new surroundings.

The inside wasn’t bad for it being an abandoned factory. There were some windows knocked out, some trash littering the ground, but other than that the inside looked structurally sound. Clint took a few steps by himself, his hands sliding over a few pillars. He turned back and gave Bucky a questioning look, and Bucky handed over his hearing aids.

“So… remember how you were telling me about what you wanted to do if you ever lived long enough to retire?” Bucky asked as Clint fiddled with the right hearing aid, his left already in.

“Uh-”

Bucky stepped closer. “You were saying how you wanted to open something up in the city for underprivileged kids. You said how the funds for after-school programs were lower in some neighborhoods which meant the kids didn’t have anything to do with their afternoons and evenings. Or during summer. Well… why don’t we do something about it?” Bucky asked.

“What?” Clint asked, surprised.

“I know you hate big gifts, but this doesn’t count,” Bucky started off. “But… what if we fixed this building and made it a summer camp for kids? Or something like that. They would come here for five hours a day, five days a week in the summer. They would get a healthy lunch, and then the building would be full of different rooms with different activities. Then each child would be sent home with a nutritious snack. 

“I know you were thinking about teaching archery- one room could have a range for that. And then there could be a swimming pool to teach water safety. There could be art studios, a gym for kids to run and place, maybe even a dance instructor,” Bucky explained. “It would be a not for profit, so that means we’d be pulling a lot more charity events, but I already talked to Pepper and she thinks it’s doable. And honestly? The whole team wants to help too.”

Clint stared at Bucky in awe. He remembered talking about his dreams after he was done flinging himself around like he was a superhero one night three months ago. He always wanted to give kids a chance at doing something, especially those who didn’t have the means to afford it. He knew it likely would have made a difference in his life growing up, so it had potential to help others. But he thought he was just rambling on about something- he hadn’t expected Bucky to actually listen. Every nod of the head, Clint thought it was Bucky nodding to agree while he thought of whatever it was Bucky typically thought about.

“You… actually listened to all that?” Clint asked, feeling his face heating up.

“Doll, I listen to everything you say,” Bucky said, cupping Clint’s face between his hands. “And I think this is a really good idea. It’s selfless, it’s rewarding- it’s something so perfectly you that I mean… how could I not want to help make this come true?”

Clint smiled and looked down. “You’re going to make me cry or something,” Clint muttered.

“Better be happy tears, Barton,” Bucky chuckled. “What do you say? Want to go in with the rest of the Avengers and buy up this building and change it into something amazing?”

Clint nodded and stepped up, knocking Bucky’s arms down so he could wrap his own around Bucky’s shoulders. He felt Bucky’s airy laugh against his chest and Clint closed his eyes. “Thank you,” he whispered.

“Anything for you,” Bucky replied. “All you ever have to do is speak up.”


	6. I'd go green for you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the Clint Barton Birthday bingo "gift/present".

“Remind me to never fight aliens again,” Clint whined as he walked out of the shower room, towel drying his hair.

It hadn’t been a hard mission, even if it wasn’t exactly a standard mission. Did they expect aliens? No. Did they expect AIM to be working on aliens? Nope. Did they expect the aliens to side with their captors? No way. Was Clint happy they could free the aliens by calling Carol? Yes, but there was one he wished he could have puttied because it bit him… hard.

This time it was just Clint and Natasha, which was how Clint preferred S.H.I.E.L.D. sanctioned missions if he was to be honest. He understood working with the Avengers, and sometimes teaming up for those events; however, by the end of the mission they all met up as a team. When it was S.H.I.E.L.D. sanctioned, it was always down to two, and there was always one bed, and that always came with some degree of weirdness. Steve turned all red in the face about having to share a bed, which meant Clint usually took the floor because who in their right mind would make Captain America sleep on the floor. Tony was a blanket hog and only liked to sleep in what Clint could only describe as sub-zero temperatures. Bucky, of course, would be ideal because they already sleep together, but they rarely got sent on S.H.I.E.L.D. missions together. And don’t get Clint started on Thor and his magical stories before bed time and well after- the guy was a sleep talker.

Natasha though- Natasha was his partner in crime, literally and figuratively. Clint knew her like he knew the back of his hand, and everything about Natasha washed his nerves with a sense of absolute calm. They had shared a bed more times than Clint could keep track of, and it wasn’t a problem. She was in charge of the thermostat and Clint’s hearing aids, and Clint was in charge of giving her his extra pillow and being the big spoon. It hadn’t always been that way between them, but after working together for over ten years they had formed a trust and bond that would be incredibly hard to break.

Sometimes, Natasha liked to test just how solid their bond was. As soon as Clint stepped out of the bathroom she started to laugh, nearly collapsing over. Clint knew he was a sight- whatever their aliens spat, it stained. Clint told Natasha to shower first- he always would let Natasha shower first unless he was in desperate need to clean off, or was trying to use the water to help disinfect some wounds or ease the pain. While her skin had some splotches on it from their activity, her hair was left untouched.

“Yeah, laugh it up, Romanoff,” Clint grumbled. His skin was sporting vivid green dots, and this time it wasn’t ugly bruising. His hair was a disaster to wash, the secretion sticking in his hair and forming a gel-like substance; Clint wondered how long his hair was going to stay streaked with green and wondered if maybe he should just dye it green and get it over with. “Next time I’m locking you out of the bathroom so you can start looking like the jolly green giant.”

Natasha sat up and hugged her legs, watching him as he collapsed down on the bed across from her. It was their lucky night- they didn’t have to share. Clint figured he should count his blessings. “Green is a good color for you. Maybe it’s time for a change. Ditch the purple.”

Clint faked a gasp of horror. “You take that back! Purple and I are in a committed relationship.” Clint flopped back down against the bed, accidentally knocking his head against the wall. Natasha snorted and Clint glared at her. “Tell me you at least called in and told ‘em that we are done with the mission and ready for extraction.”

“Do I look like a new agent to you?” Natasha asked with an arched eyebrow. “One of those… things… chipped my nail polish.”

“Oh… the absolute horror,” Clint grumbled. “My hair is green, Nat. Green.” Natasha snickered and laid down, playing with her duffle bag. “You know Tony is going to comment. I am thinking I should just… maybe I should just go bald.”

“Oh, yeah, because that’s not a terrible idea,” Natasha laughed. “I am trying to picture you with no hair- I don’t like it.”

Clint jumped when something landed on his chest. He sat up and looked at the small box as it slid down to his lap; it was perfectly wrapped and had the perfect bow on it. He stared at it for a little bit longer before he looked at Natasha. “What is this?” he asked.

“What do you think it is?” Natasha asked.

Clint felt his lips involuntarily twitch up as he picked up the box and sat the whole way up, his feet planting on the ground. “Looks too pretty to open it,” he commented. “You outdid yourself.”

“You better open the box, Clint,” Natasha warned.

“You are such a sourpuss,” Clint taunted. “What’s that old wives tale? You break the bow and you’ll have a kid?”

“I wish you the best of luck in that department,” Natasha laughed before she sat up, folding her legs. “Stop stalling, Barton.”

It was their tradition. They never gave each other presents on their actual birthdays. This year, Clint had given Natasha hers a week before, when they were out on a mission. Natasha seemed to enjoy that well enough that she presented Clint with his three weeks before while they were on a solo. Sure, both of them hated getting presents from the others, but one gift from each other was fine. Clint had bought Natasha a new manicure set, something small that she could keep tucked away in his travel bag, complete with mini bottles of nail polish in her favorite colors. 

Clint smiled and carefully unwrapped the bow, purposely drawing it out just to watch Natasha fidget. He tossed the paper into a pile on the table between them and opened the box before he looked a little stunned. It was a thin silver necklace, looking more delicate than Clint ever dared to touch, and at the end was a charm.

“Remember how you bought me the arrow?” Natasha asked. Clint looked up at her, his eyes lowering to her arrow necklace before he looked back up. “Might have taken me a long time but I think I finally thought of the perfect gift. Now you have a little part of me to hold onto whenever we’re… you know.”

At the time, Clint was embarrassed at the gift he had given Natasha. It was a small, golden chair with an arrow looped through it. He told her it was so she had something to remember him by if he kicked the bucket during a mission, even though the gift was loaded with so much more emotions than something so simple. Natasha smiled and passed him back the box before she pulled her hair up and asked him to put it on her.

Now he sat there, staring down at the purple and red hourglass, his thumb tracing the shape. Neither of them had much- they didn’t keep a lot of possessions because they knew at any moment they could become a liability. But this was one of those things that Clint would keep tucked away in his shirt.

“It’s perfect, Tash,” Clint said softly.

Natasha got up and took the three steps it took before she sat down and leaned against Clint. She pressed a kiss to his cheek before she laid her head against his shoulder. “Happy birthday, Clint,” she said softly.


	7. What goes up, must come down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the Clint Barton Birthday bingo fill "balloons".

“Tony is going to kill us,” Bucky laughed, using an air canister to blow up a balloon and tying it off before handing it to Clint. “He is going to down right murder you. He’ll have to be sneakier with me. Stevie won’t let him just murder me.” Clint wasn’t going to bring up that Natasha would have Clint’s back- everyone knew that so it went without saying. However, Clint was positive that between the two of them, Tony would take his chances on killing Clint before he would try Bucky.

“Hey, Tony is the one who recruited us. He should walk in this place, get tears in his eyes, and tell us how much he loves and appreciates us,” Clint argued with a grin. “I mean, I want full on crying at how enthusiastically we agreed to participate and help with this.”

“I threatened to drown myself in the pool and you begged for your birthday gift to  _ not _ be involved with any of this,” Bucky pointed out, highly amused while trying to sound dry. Clint loved when he got that tone behind his voice because it made Clint feel like he was doing something right. “In fact, if I remember correctly, you even offered to sell your soul to not do this.”

“And look! Even the devil wouldn’t take me up on it! I have been betrayed,” Clint declared passionately before he leaned down to kiss Bucky quickly. “Hey, you should convince everyone to just use these decorations for my birthday so they don’t go out and buy more. I mean, I like rainbows.” Bucky slowly started to grin. “Whatever you are thinking, it’s a negative.”

“I wasn’t thinking anything,” Bucky lied effortlessly. “Still. Tony said ‘tasteful’ decorations. I’m not exactly sure a rainbow archway made of balloons was what he had in mind.”

“I’m sorry, should we have made it out of skittles?” Clint asked while Bucky was taking a drink of water and watched him spit it out before he laughed straight from the gut. “Ha! I am on a roll today!”

“And now I’m wet,” Bucky snorted.

“Just how I like you.”

“You’re awful.” Bucky got up and stretched.

It was eight days before Clint’s birthday, and three days before the Avenger’s annual Pride charity event. Usually Pepper was in charge of any and all events, mostly because she didn’t trust a single one of them to actually throw an appropriate party. However, Pepper was out of the country, and Tony was left in charge with strict instructions.

At the last minute, the hall where the charity event was supposed to be held cancelled and Tony, at the last minute, decided it would have to be held on one of the press floors of the Tower. This also meant that all the decorations had to be put up last minute. Sadly, Clint and Bucky were the “volunteers” for that endeavor despite both of them pleading for Tony to change his mind. So Clint decided he would do something drastic and overstated to avoid this punishment for future years.

“You know… speaking of decorations,” Bucky said slowly, taking care of some of the table clothes and sprinkling on the confetti. “I was thinking about redecorating my floor. What do you think?”

“If that’s something you want to do, then I think you should do it,’ Clint answered. He fixed a few of the balloons on the archway and stepped back. “What were you thinking? You seem like you’d enjoy the chic and clean look. All modern.”

“I don’t know. Want to help me with it?” Bucky asked.

“With decorating your floor?” Clint asked, turning to look at Bucky. Bucky’s jaw was set, his teeth clenched. “Uh- babe?” Bucky looked up. “You got something you wanna say? Or maybe ask?”

Bucky nodded and stopped moving the tablecloth around. “I guess I should stop dropping hints, huh?” he asked. “I think we should move in together.”

Clint dropped the deflated balloon he was holding. “You want to move in together?” he asked.

“That’s what I said.”

“But… why?” Clint questioned. “I mean, I leave five floors up. It takes not even five minutes for either of us to reach the other one.”

“Really, Clint?” Bucky walked over and it wasn’t  _ exactly  _ his murder strut, but it was pretty close. “We spend a lot of time together anyway. So why not? What do we have to lose?”

“Personal space,” Clint said automatically without thinking. That, naturally, was the wrong thing to say. “Awww, Bucky, no… that’s not what I-”

“Am I too pushy or something?” Bucky asked. “Do I smother you?” He didn’t raise his voice, not once, but Clint noticed the strain in his tone. “Personal space.”

“I said that without thinking.”

“Yeah, well, that’s not exactly what someone would want to hear when asking someone to move in,” Bucky snapped. “Sorry babe, I love you but I love being away from you just a little bit more.”

“Okay, that is  _ definitely  _ not what I said,” Clint said defensively.

“That is what you just implied.” Bucky crossed his arms. “I’ve got a serious question for you. Where do you see yourself in two years?” Clint was at a loss for words and shuffled his feet awkwardly. Bucky waited almost a minute before his face fell. “Really, Clint?”

“I… really don’t know what you want me to say,” Clint admitted.

“That in two years you still see us being a thing!” Bucky answered angrily, his voice starting to rise. “That maybe you think-”

“Can we just get through doing this before we argue?” Clint suggested nervously.

“No,” Bucky said. “No. I want to hear exactly why you don’t want to move in with me.” Clint opened his mouth then closed it, chewing on his lip and trying to think but his mind was stuck on that hurt look on Bucky’s face and how, right now, he was the one who was causing it. “You know what? Never mind. When you have decided what you want, or how we can talk about this, come find me.”

“Bucky-” Clint implored.

“Until then, I guess I’ll give you your personal space,” Bucky said coldly, walking out quickly.

Clint stayed in his spot, clenching and unclenching his fists. He took a deep breath and turned and looked around the hall. Slowly, Clint moved from his spot and fiddled with a new balloon in his hand. He knew he needed to go up there and talk it out with Bucky. Figure out how to express how he was feeling, but he wasn’t sure how to put it into words.

With a sigh, Clint filled up a balloon, held it out away from him and let it go.


	8. Bake it 'til you flake it

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the Clint Barton Birthday bingo fill "cake"

Clint sat in the middle of the kitchen floor, feeling completely defeated. There was flour everywhere, sugar everywhere, chocolate sauce splattered in places it was going to be a job and a half to reach. All he wanted to do was something nice for Bucky, something to help him feel like he could talk to him, figure out what went wrong and how to explain himself. He thought he could do something this simple, and yet it had turned out like an utter disaster.

It had been three days since their argument, and they still weren’t speaking to each other. The only time Bucky came within reach of Clint was during the charity event, and that was just for a PR stunt before he made himself perfectly scarce from Clint. It wasn’t like Clint didn’t deserve it. He could still picture the hurt in Bucky’s eyes when he blurted out those two stupid words.

He missed Bucky. He missed all the time they spent together doing random things, or eating dinner while watching the history channel, or the cooking network. He missed all the soft kisses, the cuddling, his head in Bucky’s lap. Clint wanted it all back, and he was trying, even if Bucky didn’t know it. He was trying his hardest to find some way to broach the subject, and he was currently covered in one of the attempts.

Clint looked up at the counter where a bowl was toppled over, cake batter oozing out of it and dripping off the counter. And there, near where Clint had left his phone was a box that was once black but was now so flour covered it was more grey and white. It was stupid- he wasn’t even going to show or tell Bucky about it, but somehow looking at that box helped give him courage. It was a promise Clint wanted to make, sometime in the future; it was a reminder that he needed to get off his ass, stop moping, and do something about it.

“Clint?” Clint looked up at Bucky, his eyes going wide. Bucky looked around the kitchen, his eyes wide as well. Clint scrambled to get up, to keep the box out of Bucky’s sightlines. “Did you get into a fight with the mixer or something?” he asked slowly, calmly.

“Or something,” Clint answered. He couldn’t reach back and pick the box up, that would definitely look suspicious. So instead he sat up on his counter, right into a pile of what had to be more chocolate sauce, and wondered what god he might have pissed off to deserve all this. “How… how are you?”

“Been better,” Bucky admitted. “I’m sorry. For what happened a few days back.”

“It’s not your fault, it’s mine,” Clint answered automatically.

“No it’s not,” Bucky insisted. “Clint, you’re entitled to not want to move in with me and to be honest about it. I shouldn’t have reacted the way I did. I should have been proud of you for telling me how it is, how you feel, and instead I got upset over something that really isn’t worth getting upset about. You’re right- we live in the same building, we can visit each other-”

“I want to move in with you,” Clint blurted out. Bucky opened his mouth then closed it, an odd expression on his face. “Bucky, I love you. And I want to move in with you. But for a moment I just- I said something stupid because I thought maybe I was being impulsive and felt myself pull back from that. Or maybe I thought that it was too much of a commitment and it freaked me out. I don’t really know. But I- I want to move in with you, and find stupid decorations that we both like, and bicker over the ones we love and the other doesn’t. I want that with you.”

Bucky genuinely looked confused, but his body relaxed. “You thought  _ you _ were being impulsive?”

“I mean, we didn’t actually talk about it,” Clint admitted, looking down and licking his lips, which he regretted- flour didn’t have a particularly good taste to it. “I always thought maybe we would talk about it or something. Say what we wanted when we did want to move in together. Or rules or something. I don’t know. I know it doesn’t make sense but-”

“Come here.” Clint looked up. “I’m not walking in your kitchen, it’s filthy. So you have to come here.”

Clint felt himself tense. “I, uh, so I can’t.”

“What do you mean you can’t?” Bucky asked.

“So, uhm…” Clint looked behind him at the small box before he looked back at Bucky. It wasn’t confusion so much as concern written on his expression now. “So, uhm, remember how we just talked about me being impulsive?” Clint asked.

“Yes.”

“So I impulsively did something and I really don’t want you to read into it, or react poorly to it,” Clint said. “So if I move, you have to promise me that we’re going to be okay. That we can talk this out and that you’ll help me not do something that could possibly be the best thing ever, or maybe even the worst.”

“Not sure that’s a promise I can keep,” Bucky admitted. “I can promise to try?”

Clint had to think about it for a moment before he nodded and stood up, picking up the small box behind him. He knew Bucky had gotten a glance of it based on his awestruck expression. “I was trying to make you a souffle as an apology cake because I, uh- looked at this box and remembered that I needed to work really hard to make sure you never had a reason to leave.”

“Is that a-”

“I swear I wasn’t going to propose,” Clint said in a rushed manner. “I bought the ring on impulse. And when I was putting my laundry away I saw the box. And I took it out and I reminded myself that I bought it for a reason, and that I needed to figure out how to talk to you about all of this. Get back on the same page. So I bought it out to the kitchen with me to remind myself why I was trying to make a stupid cake, something  _ you _ do so easily, and I just-” Clint waved his arms in the air. “I guess I couldn’t even get this part right. Souffles are hard.”

Bucky’s expression softened and Clint wasn’t sure if he looked like he was going to cry or not. “When did you buy that?” Bucky asked softly.

“Back in February, after you agreed to help me with my sunburn,” Clint answered. “I knew that if you were actually willing to deal with my… well, whatever, that this was something worth keeping for as long as you’d let me keep it. I uh, I was almost going to give it to you, a few days after your birthday. After you threw that can at the homophobes head.” Bucky started to smile a little more at that. “That was probably one of the single hottest Barnes moments ever. A fuckin’ beer can straight to the head of that asshole, throwing left, and watching him stumble and fall down.”

Bucky nodded and dropped his head for a moment before he bent down, taking his shoes off and rolling up his pants. “What are you doing?” Clint asked. Bucky pulled his sweatshirt off, followed by his shirt, tossing them into a small pile.

“We are making that souffle together and we are going to clean this mess up together,” Bucky said. He walked in the kitchen, almost on his tiptoes, his nose scrunching up at the mess before he reached Clint. He reached out and put his hand over the ring box. “I want you to give this to me when you are ready, and not because you feel like you have to do it just to keep me around, because I’m not going anywhere Clint. Not when I have someone like you wanting someone like me.”

“Perfect?” Clint asked.

Bucky chuckled and pressed his forehead against Clint’s for a moment. “Far from it, doll. But I kinda like this mess that we have going.”

“Are we talking figurative or-”

“Definitely figurative,” Bucky laughed. “Want me to show you how to make a souffle?”

“I want you to marry me,” Clint said abruptly. He licked his lips, gagged against the taste of the flour before he took a step back and got down on one knee. “James Buchanan Barnes. Will you marry me?”

“Are you being impulsive?”

“Let’s face it, this is basically the only way I’m ever going to do it,” Clint said with a self-deprecating smile. “If you want me, you get all my impulsive behaviors. You get purple walls-”

“Oh God,” Bucky groaned.

“And you can steal my hoodies, any of them, anytime you want them,” Clint added. “We can take backwoods vacation, or do kayaking tours. We can take more cooking classes, or do those drunk painting classes together. But if you say yes-”

“Yes.”

“I wasn’t done!” Clint protested.

“Just stand up and kiss me you dork,” Bucky said. Clint nodded and stood up, pulling Bucky into a kiss. Bucky pulled back quickly and stuck his tongue out. “Oh my God, you really got that flour caked on your lips.”

“I  _ know _ ,” Clint whined. “I don’t know what I’m doing in here.”

“I’ll trade you- a shiny ring for a fancy dessert,” Bucky offered.

“That is a trade I’d make just about any day,” Clint answered.


	9. Thirty candles and a wish

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the Clint Barton Birthday bingo fill "birthday".

Clint moaned and groaned, pulling the blanket up over his head to shield his eyes from the sun. That was when Clint noticed that his normal shade was gone, that his bed felt colder, and that his boyfriend, no, fiance, was definitely not there. Clint opened his eyes despite wanting to fall back asleep and stared at the empty space.

Today was the day Clint had been dreading- his thirtieth birthday. He was betting that if Tony went hardcore for people’s birthdays, he would push that envelop even more on a big one. He considered crawling up into a vent, hiding there until someone, likely Bucky or Natasha, made him crawl back down. He could do it- he could steal snacks from his fridge and make it to one of his nests. Then it would take awhile for them to find  _ which _ nest he was in- JARVIS was a good bro and wouldn’t share his location.

Clint sat up slowly and rubbed his head before he looked at his nightstand and frowned. He reached out and grabbed a note, rubbing the sleepiness from his eyes before he tried to focus on the neat cursive on the page.  _ Of course Bucky would write in cursive. This is some form of torture _ Clint thought, squinting his eyes to get a better look.

_ Hey sunshine, _

_ We got called out on a mission this morning. You were up all night, and you were sleeping so soundly I couldn’t find it in me to wake you. Anyway, there is breakfast in the fridge for you to reheat. We should be home by dinner. _

_ Love you. Don’t do anything stupid. _

_ Bucky _

Clint smiled and carefully folded the note. He made his way out of the bed, found the small keepsake box he kept tucked away in his “to go” bag, pushing the clothes and alternate IDs away to put the note in with his other valuables that he needed in one place in case he had to make a mad dash. It was everything he told himself he needed in case things went to hell. Some cards from the team, small trinkets from Phil, Maria, even one from Nick. And then there were the small things Bucky gave Clint that there was no way he could ever leave behind. His bag was becoming quite full, if he were being honest.

Clint went about his morning business, using the bathroom, taking a shower and brushing his teeth before he reheated the breakfast Bucky had left behind- pancakes and sausage. By the time everything was done and said, Clint had only killed forty-five minutes.

For the first time in five years, Clint was having a birthday he was very familiar with. He sat on the couch and watched television before he laid down and watched the television. Once he grew tired of that he used the nerf gun Tony got him and shot at the target on the ceiling, then the one behind him just for the fun of it. When that wasn’t enough he snuck down to the range for some more practice.

Lunch was had out of the Tower that day. Clint couldn’t stand the buzzing going on under his skin. It wasn’t that Clint wasn’t used to time by himself- but he was suspicious of the whole situation, and when he isn’t thinking of this as a trap he was worried that the entire team  _ was _ on a mission and that always made him nervous. So Clint did the smartest thing he could think of- go to a restaurant as close to the dog park that he could so he would be on dog watch duty.

But that could only last a few hours. Soon enough, Clint dragged himself back to the Tower, checked in with JARVIS, and collapsed on his couch. He had sent out two texts, one to Bucky and one to Natasha, but he received nothing in return. He turned the television back on and hoped that maybe he could fall asleep to pass the time.

It wasn’t until about seven that there was a knock on his door. Clint was on his feet and crossing the room in no time flat. His steps faltered when the lights in his room dimmed and he couldn’t remember adding that to any of his schedules. He stared at the lights for a moment before he opened the door, which left him speechless.

Steve was holding out a cake with multicolored candles on it, and behind him stood most of the team, scrunched up close, the candlelight illuminating their faces. Steve gave one small nod before the team quietly sang the birthday song, and Clint looked at each of them, eyes wide as he took it all in before he felt tears prickling and he had to brush them away.

“What… is this?” he asked.

“Pretty sure this is the part where you make a wish and blow out the candles,” Tony said with a smile. “Specifically, this is a birthday cake, bird brain.”

Clint nodded before he took a moment, then blew the candles out. There was a light cheer from the group. “... I don’t get it.”

“Someone might have told us that you are kinda like Red back there and don’t like to make a big deal out of your birthday,” Tony answered.

“And that you have been appeasing us by acting like it was fun for you,” Bruce said. “Which is very nice of you, but it made us all feel just a little guilty. Specifically Tony.”

“So this year we thought we would do something different,” Sam chimed in. “Wanna go up to the roof with us?”

“Yeah, alright,” Clint said. He walked into the elevator and Steve held the cake above his head to make extra room. He smiled over at Clint at the same time Clint felt Thor’s hand land on his shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze. Natasha grinned and bumped into Clint with her hip and he swayed over, keeping his hip against her.

The roof of the Tower was tastefully decorated, with party lights hanging up and a banner. There was a table with side dishes and pizza just waiting for everyone. Steve strolled over to it and set the cake down. Once Clint walked over he got a good look at the cake and felt himself smiling widely.

“Is that a homemade cake?” he asked.

“What did you think we were secretly doing all day?” Bucky asked. “This lot decided they wanted to make a cake. Steve nearly burned the Tower down three times.” Steve’s face turned bright red and he shrugged bashfully at the comment.

“We have been on Steve’s floor all day, trying to plan a low key party and make a cake,” Natasha informed him. “So if this cake ends up tasting like regrets, you know why.”

“A homemade cake was the perfect idea,” Steve argued lightly. He patted Clint on the back. “Come on, birthday guy- you go first.”

“By the way, after dinner we have plans,” Tony said. “We have presents because I do not believe in  _ no _ gifts, I’ll die first.” Clint laughed and leaned over and pulled Tony into a side hug. “And then we have a card game to play that I am sure you and Natasha will somehow ruin by cheating.”

“Sounds like the perfect plan,” Clint admitted. He caught sight of Bucky, who nodded. Clint gave him a smile before he turned back to the food. “Alright! Let’s see what we got here!”

It was, by all accounts, Clint’s favorite birthday to date. It was low key, with music playing in the background. While they ate, the team razzed each other for the shitty music the others listened to, which only made Clint feel lighter by the minute. The gifts were all practical things he would need or want, even the new scopes Tony had made to help filter out different forms of light, or make it easier to see in the dark. Clint didn’t even complain when Tony upgraded his glasses to include the same feature.

Sure enough, Natasha and Clint found a way to cheat at the new card game Steve had bought. It took two rounds before they seemed to figure out the rules and the pattern. By their third win, Tony was red in the face and shouting, demanding for them to reveal their methods. Natasha played innocent while Clint smiled around his beer bottle, which ended with him being called “a little shit”. And if Tony was mad about it, Steve was even worse. Clint enjoyed working with competitive assholes. Just to up the ante, Sam asked if he could whisper in Clint and Natasha’s ears their trick, which of course was just used to fuel the fire because neither Tony or Steve could accept that Sam had figured out the cheats before they did. Thor was laughing so hard that at one point there was a crack of lightning, which dissolved the argument into a giant laughing fit.

Clint managed to get himself out of playing the next round and wandered over to where Bucky was sitting. Clint sat down and leaned against him. “So… thank you for making this happen.”

“How do you know it was me?” Bucky asked, turning his head to kiss Clint’s temple.

“Because the only other person who knew was Natasha and she enjoyed my pain and suffering,” Clint explained and Bucky snorted. “I’m serious. Thank you. This is… markedly better than any birthday I’ve ever had.”

“You’re welcome, anything for you,” Bucky answered. “So- want to close down the night at Mutz and sleep off the hangover in Bed-Stuy?” he asked.

“Actually,” Clint said slowly, “I think I want to finish my night out here, with everyone.” Bucky nodded and looked back up at the crowd. “Well, and maybe on the couch watching shitty movies if you’re in the mood,” Clint hazard to add.

Bucky looked over at Clint and slowly started to smile. “Whatever you want, doll.” Clint was pretty sure he was never going to get over Bucky and that specific term of endearment. He leaned over and caught Clint’s face before he kissed him and Clint leaned into it. “So- going to tell me what you wished for?”

Clint snorted and finished off his drink before he stood up. “Already came true,” he said with a wink.


End file.
